So a pretty general article but this part stood out to me:
in vintage Lambie style she warned him not to โsuck upโ.
โ[America] need[s] Australia more than what we need them, and they need our critical minerals. So, if Trump wants to play with Australia, I suggest you start getting your cowboy hats on,โ Lambie said.
โโฆ Donโt play bloody Trumpโs bluff. Donโt play it. You donโt move Albo. Donโt you move on him. Donโt you dare. Donโt suck up.โ
Why does she think they rely on us more than them?
Average Australian has an iphone, uses facebook/instagram/whatsapp/facebook messenger/marketplace, google, gmail and youtube, and all its services along with Apple/Microsoft, most corporates are damn near 100% Microsoft, Microsoft Windows on Microsoft laptops with Microsoft Teams and Microsoft Edge and MIcrosoft Office365, all our movies are American, all our top hit singles in music are American, TV shows, netflix, Food with McDonalds, KFC, products with Amazon, Amazon prime etc Walk around a shopping centre and count the NBA/NFL/American tshirts
Why does she think Americans rely on us more than us on them? We are deeply embedded in America at this point
American social media movies sports etc is a soft power tool. They lose more by cutting us off than we do.
Their are 3 countries with rare earth minerals China, Australia, and greenland. Australian companies own most of the greenlandian rare earth mines plus I doubt Greenland is feeling inclined to help America take their resources.
Most of out trade is with China so us cutting us off has very little impact on our trade. We are in a highly advantageous strategic position as we are the only land mass in the area. The us needs military bases in Australia to mai twin their killchains. The us bases on our soil are critical for all us warfare in the middle east (Israel, Afghanistan, Iran, etc).
The us government literally couped our government when their bases on OUR land where threatened (google our man kurr).
Yes they can fuck us. But we can fuck em back wayyy harder.
Their are 3 countries with rare earth minerals
There are more, and I donโt know any specific REM primarily in those three countries. But yeah, theyโre three of the more important ones, alongside USA, India, Brazil, Russia and Paraguay.
Most of out trade is with China so us cutting us off has very little impact on our trade.
I think โvery littleโ is exaggerating (apparently 11% of imports and 5% of exports), but yep, we have other options if push comes to shove.
+1 for the soft power tools being their benefit rather than ours. +1 for us hosting critical intel bases.
You know I was thinking that rents have been climbing throughout the whole country. Maybe the government needs to take into account that Trump and his cronies are out there ratcheting up tensions internationally and posturing as bullies on a global stage, then apply a small rent increase on US bases on our soil. A lazy hundred billion or so for Pine Gap should cover a lot of trade shortfall and somewhat compensate for the extra risk we are shouldering. When Trump calls to posture about it tell him we will increase troops on the border to prevent fentanyl and crack down on the cartels, then offer him the same price and watch him Art of the Dealโข that into a negotiating victory for himself.
Their are 3 countries with rare earth minerals China, Australia, and greenland.
What ? Rare earths are everywhere, they are just difficult to extract and toxic as shit to procees, you also always have nuclear waste associated with it that is concentrated in the treatment process.
Thereโs a reason Lynas set up a plant in Malayasia for thier WA mined ores, they would have been unlikely to get a license way back in the day becase of the toxic shit that comes from processing. Theyโve already polluted large parts of the rainforested areas in Malaysia from tailings dam overflows.
Australiaโs advantage isnโt itโs massive rare earth windfall, itโs that only a few โblack fellasโ live in or near vast areas that can be mined, so we just ignore them or throw them a few tokens as we rape and pillage the natural environment. Much of the rest of the world has people living on it.
There are all sorts of mineral deposits across Europe for example, look at Rioโs large proposed Lithium mine in Serbia and the push back, why ? Peopleโฆ and not just indigenous people no one gives a shit about.
Serbia blocked plans for Europeโs biggest lithium mine โ a flagship project of Rio Tinto new chief executive โ in a dramatic response to local opposition
